A-Infos (en) France, Lamouette Enragee: Spontaneous Strikes at Arcelor Dunkirk Amid Endless Restructuring (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

Since the announcement last April by Arcelor Group management of a new 
redundancy plan, strikes have multiplied at the Dunkirk site. Behind the 
scenes, the vested interests of industrialists from various sectors and 
local decision-makers are intertwined. ---- From Usinor to Arcelor ---- 
In Dunkirk, Usinor was established in 1962 and quickly became one of the 
largest steelmaking sites in the region. Firstly, due to its 
infrastructure, the factory covers 25 km², but also due to the size of 
its workforce, which reached 11,400 employees by the mid-1970s. At that 
time, workers were recruited from no fewer than 200 surrounding towns 
and villages; some were former miners who had retrained, others 
steelworkers relocated from eastern France. Industrial restructuring was 
already beginning to take effect. This sheer size did not, however, mean 
that the workforce was concentrated there as in other sectors, such as 
the automotive industry. Usinor was spread across several separate 
sites, far apart from one another. Today, after decades of production 
consolidation, only 3,500 direct jobs and about a thousand 
subcontractors remain at the factory.

Lobbying and Public Funds

Arcelor has 40 production sites in France, employing some 15,000 people. 
In May 2025, the group's management announced the elimination of 600 
jobs, primarily in Dunkirk and Florange, as well as the closure of its 
smaller plants in Reims and Denain (1). The management's argument, 
invariably the same, cites: "unfair competition (2), insufficient 
demand, and excessively high production costs." While it is true that 
steel demand in France has fallen by 20% over the past five years, and 
the sector is facing a global crisis of overproduction (3), over time, 
this rhetoric has allowed steel barons, whether of Lorraine or Indian 
origin, to amass billions of public funds, alternately using their 
networks of influence and blackmail over jobs.

Alarmed that "the steel industry in Europe is in crisis" and that "all 
sites are at risk," the president of Arcelor France has been calling for 
EU protection and higher tariffs. Meanwhile, the group is freezing its 
investments in CO2 emission reduction, particularly at its Fos and 
Dunkirk sites. This decision seems incomprehensible at first glance, 
given that the company is simultaneously lamenting that CO2 emissions 
are reducing the selling price of its steel by 10%.

In reality, it's a stroke of luck and a matter of timing (4). The French 
government, through its France 2030 plan, has announced it will allocate 
EUR4.5 billion to decarbonize industry and is preparing to disburse 
EUR13.6 million in aid to the Dunkirk industrial and port area, which 
ranks second among the top greenhouse gas emitters. Once again, it will 
be a matter of waiting and knowing how to position oneself...

Decarbonization, electrification, deception

For both the steelmaker and the CGT union, decarbonization begins with 
the electrification of production. The idea seems self-evident, 
especially since the Gravelines nuclear power plant is located just a 
stone's throw from the steel complex. Arcelor will relentlessly make 
contradictory announcements on the subject, employing misleading 
communication. Hoping to reassure both the government and employees, the 
group simultaneously announces a large-scale redundancy plan and a 
EUR1.7 billion investment in the construction of electric furnaces. In 
the end, the company scales back its ambitions and changes course; the 
electrification of production is no longer on the agenda. At the Mardyck 
site, a short distance from Dunkirk, only 500 million euros will now be 
invested, not in electric furnaces as previously announced, but in three 
production lines for "electric steel," obtained from recycled scrap 
metal and intended for the production of car engines.

Nuclear Power in the Age of Rising Sea Levels

Let's pause for a moment to consider the implications of replacing coal 
with electricity in the steelmaking process. As we have written, the 
Gravelines nuclear power plant is considered the essential player in 
this conversion. It is the key to the "ecological transition" of the 
Dunkirk industrial basin and is the focus of considerable attention, 
especially since the recent establishment of new energy-intensive 
industries such as gigafactories (5).

Having entered operation in 1974, the Gravelines power plant is among 
those whose lifespan is constantly being extended beyond the standards 
established at the time of construction. Two EPR 2 reactors would 
replace the aging structure by 2040, but the project faces significant 
constraints. For example, the density of the EPR reactors is twice that 
of the currently operating facility. The ASNR (French Nuclear Safety 
Authority) considers the mechanical properties of the soil located on 
the coast to be poor, as it is too loose over a considerable depth (6). 
Furthermore, the risks of submersion and soil liquefaction are now 
proven due to coastal erosion and rising sea levels...

"A Spontaneous Strike"

It was in this context that, in early December, a spontaneous strike 
surprised both the company's management and the CGT (General 
Confederation of Labour). According to the latter, the plant was 
operating at only 30% of its capacity and a blast furnace had been shut 
down. It should be noted that this strike arose during the formal annual 
salary negotiations, which were subsequently suspended. The mobilization 
reportedly originated in sectors of the factory not typically known for 
their activism. The demands themselves remained quite conventional: wage 
increases, bonuses, improved working conditions, hygiene, and so on.

This was all the CGT delegate needed to declare this episode "historic, 
unprecedented." (7) According to him, the situation was "in an 
insurrectionary state... given how the movement started, it's beyond our 
control... some departments that had never gone on strike before are now 
mobilizing, and these are not CGT strongholds." As for management, they 
cited "the seriousness of the economic situation" as a pretext and 
"invited" the workers to "return to work as soon as possible."

In this instance, it would seem that resistance to the restructuring had 
become intertwined with more immediate demands. The announcement of a 
new layoff plan in a context of wage cuts and deteriorating working 
conditions may have fueled the grassroots initiative. But in the game of 
bluff being played by both the group's management and the union 
representatives, nothing suggests the path the strikers will take in the 
coming months; perhaps they themselves don't know: is this a fit of 
temper or a broader aspiration to break free from certain constraints? 
(8) In this context, the CGT's often impassioned pronouncements resemble 
an invitation extended to management at the very moment when the 
National Assembly is once again voting to nationalize the site.

In any case, this struggle is part of a new cycle of company closures 
that management is vigorously pursuing, and it is within this context 
that the balance of power must be assessed.

When Nationalization Resurfaces

The nationalization of ArcelorMittal has been a demand championed in 
Dunkirk by the CGT union for over a year and taken up in the run-up to 
the elections by parliamentary left-wing parties, with La France 
Insoumise (LFI) at the forefront. It resurfaces with every 
restructuring, but this time, the National Assembly adopted it in its 
first reading on Thursday, November 27, 2025. However, there is little 
chance that the bill will pass the Senate, where the right and center 
hold a majority.

In the early 1970s, the nationalization of key sectors was included in 
the "Common Program of Government" drawn up at the time by the Socialist 
Party (PS) and the French Communist Party (PCF). At the end of the 
decade, with the "steel crisis," it became the rallying cry of the CGT 
at Usinor, whose slogan was "Only one solution: nationalization." It 
would indeed happen, once the left came to power. At the time, the SLT 
(Usinor-Dunkerque Workers' Struggle Union)(9), created at the initiative 
of activists who had left the CGT and a number of others ousted from the 
CFDT, which was then undergoing a major shift towards the center, 
defined its limitations and stated: "Nationalization does not 
necessarily offer a prospect of struggle."(10) Currently, in a period of 
decline, nationalization seems to offer, in the eyes of some, a 
guarantee against a highly uncertain future.

Nationalization and its Lessons

Let us therefore return to an incident that occurred within the newly 
nationalized company. On June 4, 1982, a steel projectile struck five 
workers operating a continuous casting machine at steelworks number 2. 
Two of them died, one an hour after the accident, the other five days 
later. Immediately, a power struggle ensued between the SLT and Usinor's 
management. The union held the management entirely responsible for the 
deaths of the two workers. The factory hierarchy reacted by 
orchestrating a setup against a union representative, whom they 
suspended and then managed to dismiss, overriding the labor inspector's 
decision (11). The left was then in power; it was the left that had 
nationalized the factory, and, as usual, it sided with class order and 
justice.

On February 26, 1983, Pierre Mauroy, questioned by SLT activists during 
a city council meeting in Lille, praised "the struggle of the Usinor 
workers." On the left, there was much talk of "new citizenship within 
the company"-this was the era of the Auroux laws... But no matter, at 
the same time, the Prime Minister's office sided with management. In a 
letter addressed to the SLT, the union declared: "The government 
respects the management autonomy of nationalized companies and has no 
intention of intervening in labor relations within these companies." 
Exploitative labor relations are precisely what the left will never 
address, nationalization or not!

In May 1977, activists from the Usinor Communist Party organized a 
referendum in favor of nationalization at the factory gates. One of them 
understood this, reflecting that: "Even if we manage to get rid of the 
steel industry bosses, the managers and supervisors will still be there..."

Boulogne-sur-Mer, December 18, 2025

(1) The redundancy plan was approved by the government on December 17. 
608 jobs are being cut, including 84 in Dunkirk and 4 in Mardyck.

(2) "Unfair competition," a perfect truism.

(3) According to the OECD, steel overproduction is expected to reach 721 
million tons by 2027. China remains the world's leading producer with 
1,882.6 million tons in 2024, compared to 130 million for the EU and 11 
million for France.

(4) The amount of public aid received by Arcelor is impressive and 
difficult to establish precisely: EUR392 million in state aid since 
2013, according to an investigation; EUR192 million in tax credits; 
EUR100 million in aid to reduce electricity bills; state loans at 
preferential rates, as well as EUR4.5 million in aid from the 
environmental agency; and EUR56 million from the state and local 
authorities to modernize its facilities. From the EU, aid paid since 
2008 amounts to EUR4.7 billion. Finally, from 2006 to 2021, through 
business operations, Arcelor generated EUR3.2 billion by reselling 
surplus waste.

(5) In early December, the Vektor electric battery factory was 
inaugurated, the third company to be established after those in 
Billy-Berclau and Lambres-lez-Douai.

(6) The ASNR (French Nuclear Safety Authority) has outlined its 
expectations regarding the soil reinforcement system required for the 
construction of EPR2 reactors at the Gravelines site: 
https://www.asnr.fr/actualites/lasnr-formule-ses-attentes-concernant-le-systeme-de-renforcement-du-sol-necessaire
(7) This is not "unprecedented," contrary to what this union 
representative claims. Usinor's history of labor relations was marked 
during the 1970s and 80s by spontaneous, wildcat, and hunger strikes.

(8) We have recently observed a resurgence of grassroots initiatives, 
such as the wildcat strikes at the SNCF (French National Railways) 
maintenance depot in Châtillon, and the national strike movement of 
train service employees.

(9) Brochure of the CFDT union section dissolved by the federation on 
June 1, 1979: "In the struggles, the building of the Usinor-Dunkerque 
CFDT section: a fight we continue." June 1979.

(10) Regarding an evening of public debate that we organized with 
comrades from the SLT at the Boulogne-sur-Mer municipal library: 
https://lamouetteenragee.noblogs.org/post/2011/10/05/au-pays-dusinor-la-projection-et-le-debat-autour-de-lexperience-du-syndicat-de-lutte-des-travailleurs-dusinor-dunkerque/
(11) SLT brochure from April 1983: At Usinor Dunkerque - a nationalized 
company - a scandalous and illegal dismissal.

https://lamouetteenragee.noblogs.org/post/2025/12/21/greves-spontanees-a-arcelor-dunkerque-sur-fond-dune-restructuration-sans-fin/
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